WINTON GROUP Ltd Takes $5.17 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,167,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,519,000 after buying an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $311.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $331.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.63. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $292.44 and a 12-month high of $488.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.